Monty Panesar Hits Back at Steve Smith Ahead of Ashes Opener

Monty Panesar hit back at Steve Smith’s recent “Mastermind” remark by questioning Smith’s credibility and mocking him ahead of the Ashes opener.

Monty Panesar hit back at Steve Smith with a sharp response after Smith mocked his quiz-show blunders ahead of the 2025-26 Ashes opener in Perth. The former England spinner had earlier suggested that England should apply pressure on Smith by reminding him of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.

Smith reacted by mocking Panesar’s well-known blunders from a television quiz show, triggering a new exchange. Panesar countered by highlighting that his own errors happened on a game show, whereas Smith’s mistakes occurred on the international stage. He added that Smith’s focus on him before such a high-profile Test showed how much the comments had affected the stand-in captain. Panesar believes that if he could distract Smith this easily, England’s senior players could unsettle him even further once the Ashes start in Perth.

“To think that he(Steve Smith) wanted to talk about me before one of the biggest days of his career — when he will lead Australia out against England as he stands in for absent captain Pat Cummins — is flattering, and nothing short of hilarious,” Panesar wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

“I cannot believe he has dug out the old YouTube clip of my shocker and memorised it word by word. I must admit I am delighted to have got so far inside his head, but if I am able to achieve that, imagine how much damage Ben Stokes and his side are going to be able to do once play starts in Perth?” he added.

Monty Panesar Says Smith’s Mistake is Far Bigger

Panesar also questioned whether Steve Smith can honestly face himself after the 2018 Cape Town incident, calling that episode the most damaging controversy in Australia’s cricket history. He added that England’s senior group now has an obvious psychological opening.

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“I would actually ask Steve whether he can look himself in the mirror yet and admit that he was part of “sandpapergate”, the worst example of Australian cheating in history. Steve has just displayed a massive weakness and mental vulnerability that, at this level of elite sport, you cannot afford to do,” Panesar wrote.

“Look, we are all cricketers at the end of the day and I had some great days playing for my country, but I also had some shockers. He has had a lot of great days playing for his country but he has had one very big shocker: that day in South Africa in 2018. If I was Jofra Archer, I would be telling him “I’m swinging the ball even without sandpaper!”, or if I was Joe Root I’d be in his ear, “tell us how you do it mate, fine or coarse paper? Tell us the tricks of your trade,” he concluded.